FAQs

Yes you require a real estate lawyer in Ontario when you purchase or sell property in Ontario you are required to hire a lawyer to close the transaction. RealEstateLawyers.ca can represent both sides of a transaction with separate lawyers and law clerks.

Yes the seller needs a lawyer at closing in Ontario. All parties to a real estate transaction in Ontario must be represented by a real estate insured lawyer.

Yes a real estate lawyer is required when you are refinancing your home in Ontario. Many banks have in-house lawyers that can represent both the lender and the borrower so you may not be required to retain your own lawyer. However, we recommend that you retain your own lawyer to protect your interests and answer any questions you may have.

Except for very limited circumstances, an individual lawyer cannot represent both the transferor and the transferee in a real estate transaction.

If you are unsure if your transaction would qualify for an exception please contact our office at 416-609-2555

You pay Ontario Land Transfer Tax and if in Toronto, Toronto Land Transfer Tax when you buy a house in Ontario. You can use our closing costs calculator to get an estimate. You will also be required to pay the property tax to the municipality.

If you are a first time home buyer you may be eligible for certain tax rebates. Please contact our office at 416-609-2555 to determine if you would be eligible for these rebates

Title insurance protects property owners as well as lenders against financial losses from issues around a property’s ownership—its title. Your owner’s title insurance protects your clear ownership and ability to sell your property against future legal claims on the property’s title, whether from past issues like tax arrears, or future events like title fraud.

Lender’s title insurance secures their financial interest in the property up to the registered amount of the mortgage, protecting them from risks that include title defects, mortgage unenforceability and losses due to title fraud.

Legal disbursements are the out-of-pocket, third-party expenses a law firm pays on your behalf while handling your case or transaction. These are billed to you separately from your lawyer’s professional fees and cover essential tasks required to properly advance your legal matter.

The most typical approach is to register the title to a home as “joint tenants”. In this scenario, when one tenant dies the other inherits the property. One joint tenant cannot leave the property to another person in the will. The other common approach is “tenants in common”. As tenants in common, if one owner dies, that person’s interest will pass through his/her estate.

Title insurance protects the home owner and the lender from losses due to defects in the title of the purchased or mortgaged home. This will ensure that the home owner and the lender may be compensated for costs that could arise as a result of undiscovered defects, title fraud, as well as challenges against ownership.

The sale of a matrimonial home will require a written consent of both married spouses even if the title is only in the name of one spouse.

The agreement of purchase and sale is a legal document and if the offer is accepted by seller than it is binding contract between seller and buyer. In order for you to be released, both the seller and buyer must agree and you may be required to pay all costs associated.

If you purchase land or an interest in land in Ontario you are required to pay the Provincial Land Transfer Tax. If you have purchased this land or an interest in land located in Toronto, you are required to pay the Municipal Land Transfer Tax in addition to the Provincial Land Transfer Tax.

Municipal Land Transfer Tax Calculation:

Up to and including $55,000.00 X 0.5% of total property value

From $55,000.01 to $400,000.00 X 1% of total property value

Over $400,000.00 X 2% of total property value

Provincial Land Transfer Tax Calculation:

Up to $55,000 X 0.5% of total property value

From $55,000 to $250,000 X 1% of total property value

From $250,000 to $400,000 X 1.5% of total property value

From $400,000 up X 2% of total property value

For the exact total of your land transfer tax, please refer to the land transfer tax calculator or call

Please bring the following documents:

1. A Copy of your Agreement of Purchase and Sale including all waivers and schedules.
2. Complete name(s) of all people who will be going on title to the property along with date(s) of birth, current, mailing address, telephone number(s) and e-mail address(es).
3. The manner in which you wish to take title (ownership) to the property.
4. You must forward our law firm’s contact information to both your real estate agent and mortgage broker or lender.
5. If the property being purchases is not a condominium, please send us a copy of the fire insurance binder for the property.

Land survey is a detailed inspection of physical property that is being transferred from one owner to another. Having a survey done helps buyers understand exactly what they are buying by both defining the exact boundaries of the land, showing them where other people have a right to use their land and identifying any potential problems.

Land survey shows:

• The size of a parcel of land.
• Its location relative to nearby lands, roads, or geographical features.
• The location of public and private improvements such as buildings, pools and fences, relative to the property boundaries, and
• The physical features of the property.

An easement allows the usage of a pathway between adjacent properties. An easement may involve a pathway to reach a common play area, yard or even a fish pond. The legal terminology of easement allows someone the legal right to use something not belonging to them. Easement refers to real property and allows a legal right of usage.

There is never a best day but you should never schedule your closing on the weekend or a statutory holiday.

Common elements are those parts of a condo complex that belong to all owners. With a few exceptions, they constitute everything except the units in which people live. Corridors, garbage rooms, lobbies, locker areas, garages, technical rooms, the roof, grounds, walkways are all common elements. Other common elements include heating and air conditioning systems, hot water system, pipes, electrical systems, all light fixtures in common elements, and the security system.

Exclusive-use common elements are those parts of a building to which only the owners of a unit or owners whose units are adjacent to them have access. The most obvious are balconies, terraces, patios, and front and backyards. Also falling into this category are parking spaces and marina slips.

The condo’s financial health are the annual budget for regular expenditures and, in many provinces, the reserve fund for replacements as well as large non-routine repair expenditures in the future.

Each fiscal year, boards of directors approve a budget that is prepared based on expected revenues and expenditures for the next 12 months.

This budget is sent to all owners at least two weeks before the beginning of a fiscal year.

Budgets are fairly standard and are usually prepared for boards by a condo’s management company.

There are 4 important areas that owners want to focus on when receiving the annual budget. These are:

• Level of increase or decrease in fees;
• History of fees in the condo over recent years;
• Size of the reserve fund and yearly contributions to this fund;
• Existence and size of a contingency fund and/or surplus from previous years.

Tarion is a private corporation which was established in 1976 to protect the rights of new home buyers and regulate new home builders.

Tarion administers the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act, which outlines the warranty protection that new home purchasers are entitled to in Ontario.

Tarion’s Mandate:

• License new home builders and vendors.

Ensure builders/vendors abide by the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act

• Help educate new home buyers about their warranty rights.
• Protect consumers when builders fail to fulfil their warranty obligations.
• Resolve disputes about warranty coverage.
• Investigate illegal building practices
• Promote high standards of new home construction